Chapter 1906 We Don't Need You!

The winds of the Dragon Realm carried the crisp sound of metal striking stone as they swept across the black rocks covered with dragon patterns, and in the distance, several dragon figures could be seen soaring across the sky.

Looking at this familiar place, Situ Haokong couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

In this dragon realm, no one comes here more often than him.

He had already explored most of the Dragon Realm and had a thorough understanding of its terrain.

He cleared his throat and deliberately raised his voice.

"Sect Leader Lin, Dragon Blood Wood is no ordinary plant; it cannot be found simply by wandering around the Dragon Realm."

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Lin Jichen, Wan Yincai, and Ao Qinhan.

Upon seeing Ao Chi resting on Lin Jichen's shoulder, a glint of greed and desire flashed in his eyes.

Seeing Lin Jichen's indifferent expression, and Ao Qinhan leaning against the rock with his arms crossed, looking like it was none of his business, only Wan Yincai looked at him curiously.

Situ Haokong continued, "A thousand-year-old dragon bloodwood will have natural dragon scale patterns condensed on its trunk, and its sap will be as thick as amber. It only grows near the 'dragon vein node' where spiritual energy and dragon energy meet. However, most of the dragon vein nodes in the dragon realm are hidden deep in the stone forest or covered by ancient dragon formations. Ordinary people may not be able to detect them even if they pass by."

As he spoke, he bent down and pried off a piece of rock with blood-red veins, twirling the rock fragments between his fingertips: “Our Nine Dragon Valley has been studying Dragon Blood Wood for generations. There are three ways to determine its age: look at the density of the dragon scale patterns, smell the sweet and fishy smell of the sap, and measure the hardness of the trunk—take this young tree for example,” he pointed to the one on the cliff edge, “its sap has a strong fishy smell and no scale patterns. It’s at most a hundred years old and doesn’t even qualify for medicinal use.”

Situ Haokong deliberately emphasized the words "research on the Nine Dragon Valley over the generations," implying that he was the expert when it came to finding Dragon Blood Wood!

Even if Lin Jichen and the others are strong, they still have to listen to him in this regard.

After all, in his view, Lin Jichen's core purpose in coming to him was to obtain the Dragon Locking Formation, and the Dragon Locking Formation was useless without the Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Wood. No matter how arrogant Lin Jichen was, he still had to rely on his professional abilities.

More importantly, he had already made his plans.

As long as Lin Jichen acknowledges his professionalism, he can legitimately request the Holy Dragon's guidance.

Ao Chi is the only remaining bloodline of the Holy Dragon Clan, and is born with an extremely strong perception of things related to the dragon clan, such as dragon energy and dragon blood wood.

His reasoning is quite reasonable.

As long as he could borrow Ao Chi, even for just half a day, he was confident he could use a specially made dragon-absorbing needle to silently extract a few drops of dragon blood.

Those few drops of dragon blood might not mean much to Ao Chi, but they were the key to his breakthrough.

Of course, he wouldn't dare to actually take Ao Chi for himself. If he did, Lin Jichen would definitely have an excuse to wipe out his Nine Dragon Valley and then mobilize the entire Eight Desolations to come after him.

So he just wanted to get a little bit of dragon blood first, and he had to make the reason sound plausible so that Lin Jichen couldn't find any fault with it.

"Therefore, in my opinion, we should split up and search separately."

Situ Haokong finally revealed his plan, his tone filled with unwavering certainty.

“I will teach you how to identify Dragon Blood Wood. You will be responsible for the outer area, while I will take... take spirit pets that are sensitive to dragon energy to go deep into the core area. This division of labor is clear and the efficiency is the highest. We can find all the thousand-year-old Dragon Blood Wood we need in less than ten days.”

He paused deliberately, his gaze drifting almost imperceptibly to Ao Chi, who was curled up on Lin Jichen's shoulder. The little creature was happily munching on a dragon scale, its delicate face covered in glistening scale fragments, looking completely unguarded.

Situ Haokong's heart involuntarily quickened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he almost blurted out that he wanted to borrow Ao Chi, but he forced himself to suppress it and only dared to use the vague term "spirit pet" to hint at it.

Before he could finish explaining his reasons for seeking favor, Lin Jichen spoke calmly, like a bucket of cold water being poured over his head.

"You can go find it on your own; we have our own tasks."

Situ Haokong's smile froze instantly. He wondered if he had misheard, pointed to his nose, and said with a hint of surprise.

"Sect Leader Lin, you mean... I have to go find the Dragon Blood Wood alone?"

"Indeed." Lin Jichen said as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

Situ Haokong was now truly anxious, and his tone became increasingly impolite.

“How can I search alone? Sect Leader Lin, you probably don’t know the scale of the Dragon Realm! This Dragon Realm may seem to consist only of this stone forest, but in reality, it is connected to seventy-two dragon lairs.”

"Throughout the generations, the Nine Dragons Valley has dispatched hundreds of disciples to search for Dragon Blood Wood, and they also need to be equipped with special Dragon-Seeking Compasses. I am only one person. Even if I work day and night, it will take at least several months to find so many thousand-year-old Dragon Blood Wood!"

The more he talked, the more aggrieved he felt, and his tone even became somewhat accusatory.

"You've dumped the entire task on me alone. Is this treating me like a servant? The purpose of searching for Dragon Blood Wood is to create the Dragon-Locking Formation and to carry out the grand plan of slaying the dragon. Shouldn't everyone work together?"

What he was really anxious about was not having Ao Chi. Even if he had half a year, let alone several months, he might not be able to find all those thousand-year-old dragon blood wood pieces!

Most of the dragon vein nodes in the Dragon Realm are covered by ancient restrictions, making ordinary dragon-finding compasses useless. Only the bloodline of a holy dragon can trigger the restrictions and reveal the location of the Dragon Blood Wood.

The Nine Dragon Valley disciples he mentioned earlier always carried Dragon-Attracting Incense made from dragon blood essence, but the incense's effect was far inferior to that of a living holy dragon. Moreover, this time, for the sake of convenience, he didn't bring many of them.

But he dared not say it outright, and could only use the excuse of the heavy workload and tight schedule, secretly hoping that Lin Jichen would take the initiative to offer to borrow Ao Chi.

He had even prepared his next words. As long as Lin Jichen agreed, he would immediately pat his chest and guarantee that he would not harm Ao Chi in the slightest. He would return the Dragon Blood Wood as soon as he found it, and he could even find a few more hundred-year-old Dragon Blood Woods for Ao Chi to eat as snacks.

But Lin Jichen gave him no chance to maneuver. His eyes suddenly sharpened, like two drawn swords, piercing straight at Situ Haokong.

"Sect Master Situ, I hope you understand one thing first. Finding the Dragon Blood Wood and setting up the Dragon Locking Formation are the responsibilities of your Nine Dragon Valley, and also the conditions under which you agreed to cooperate with me. I am here to help you open the entrance to the Dragon Realm, so that you have the opportunity to complete the mission, not to be your errand boy."

He took a step forward, emanating a faint aura of power that made Situ Haokong involuntarily tense up.

"If you need help even to find materials, then you might as well hand over the method to set up the Dragon Locking Formation now, and we'll find and set it up ourselves. You can go back to Nine Dragon Valley to retire."

"The grand plan to slay the dragon doesn't need you!"

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